PASSINGS: John Ingle

John Ingle, 84, an actor who played scheming patriarch Edward Quartermaine on the daytime drama "General Hospital," died of cancer Sunday in Los Angeles, ABC said.

Ingle took over the role as the ruthless businessman Quartermaine from actor David Lewis in 1993 and made his final appearance in an episode airing last week. He also played Mickey Horton on "Days of Our Lives" during a two-year break from "General Hospital" beginning in 2004.

For decades before he became a professional actor, Ingle taught drama at Hollywood High School, Beverly Hills High School, Occidental College, Los Angeles City College and UCLA. His students included Richard Dreyfuss, Nicolas Cage, Albert Brooks, Barbara Hershey and David Schwimmer.

In the early 1980s, when he decided to leave the classroom for the sound stage, Ingle knew what roles he might land as an actor in his mid-50s.

"I've either married someone, buried them, fired them, judged them or lectured to them," he recalled in a 1995 interview with The Times.

His credits included TV shows such as "Big Love," "The Drew Carey Show," "Night Court" and "The Paper Chase" and films such as "Death Becomes Her" and "Heathers."

Born May 7, 1928, in Tulsa, Okla., Ingle moved with his family to Tujunga when he was a teenager. He graduated from Occidental College with a theater degree in 1950. In 1954 he married Grace-Lynne Martin and they raised five daughters. His wife died in February.